Per A.R.S. §38-431.02, all notices of the public meetings for the Arizona Department of Education can be accessed by clicking the link below. Notices will also be posted outside the State Board of Education Meeting Room on the first floor at 1535 West Jefferson Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85007, which is open to the public between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday except legal holidays. Such notices will indicate the date, time, and place of the meeting and will include an agenda.

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Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas was on hand at a press conference today in support of the city of Glendale’s school safety initiative to significantly increase the level of school resource officer (SRO) support at Glendale’s public high schools. Effective immediately, all of the city’s nine public high schools in four different school districts will have a dedicated Glendale police officer on campus.

“I am delighted to lend my support to the city of Glendale and this incredible initiative,” Superintendent Douglas said. “There is nothing more important than keeping our children safe and I hope cities throughout Arizona take a page out of Glendale’s playbook and follow suit. I also could not be more impressed that Glendale is going to have these officers ready to serve on campus immediately.”

Glendale Police Chief Rick St. John, along with Glendale Mayor Jerry P. Weiers and City Manager Kevin Phelps, believe that this initiative is necessary in the current climate of increased violent threats against students and teachers. Should there be any threat or incident, the role of the school resource officer will be to provide rapid response capabilities to every public high school within Glendale Police Department’s jurisdiction.

“I want to ensure the citizens of Glendale that myself, the City Council, our city management and our police department are committed to keeping our schools and all of our citizens safe,” Mayor Weiers said. “Highly trained police officers are exactly what we need in our schools protecting and serving students and staff and that is why we have made the decision to take the lead by taking this action.”

The implementation of this plan will result in a full-time Glendale police officer on every high school campus in the city. A new dedicated SRO will be on the school grounds for Deer Valley High School, Mountain Ridge High School, Apollo High School, Glendale High School and Independence High School. Previous assignments of full-time resource officers at Raymond S. Kellis High School, Copper Canyon High School, Cactus High School and Ironwood High School will continue.